Gosder Cherilus reportedly went to Germany for knee therapy

Posted by Josh Alper on February 24, 2013, 11:47 AM EDT

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Lions tackle Gosder Cherilus has reportedly taken a page from Kobe Bryant’s playbook as he gets ready for free agency.

Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press reports that Cherilus went to Germany to receive treatment on his knee that has not been approved by the Food & Drug Administration in the United States. The therapy, called Regenokine, involves removing blood from the patients’ body and treating it before reinjecting it in hopes of reducing chronic pain in joints. Bryant was one of the first American athletes to get the treatment and Brian Urlacher has also reportedly made the trip to Dusseldorf.

Urlacher didn’t want to talk about it and Birkett reports Cherilus denied being in Germany when reached via text message.

There’s a picture of Cherilus on the Facebook page of a hotel close to the offices of Dr. Peter Wehling, who cited confidentiality rules when declining to comment on whether Cherilus was a patient. Cherilus has dealt with knee injuries throughout his career, but he’s missed just five games over five years and played all but one snap for the Lions this season. Teams bidding on his services will obviously want to know what Cherilus is doing to keep himself on the field, but as long as it is legal (there’s no sign that Regenokine violates any PED policies) and working they’ll likely be fine with a trip across to the Atlantic.

I’m always confused at why an athlete would ever not go to James Andrews. He’s simply the best in the world. Thomas Davis- two ACL tears, two non-Andrews surgeons. Third ACL tear– goes to Andrews, playing like a twenty-year-old again. Derrick Rose- did not go to Andrews. Career over? Possibly.